Viva Las Vegas
by The Wicked Witch of Cupcakes
Summary: Jason, Percy, and Nico wake up in a trashed hotel room in Caesar's Palace with no memory, no Leo, and Cerberus in the bathroom. Luckily for them, what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. Percico. Fangirling Jason.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey all! So this is what happens when you watch The Hangover and finish the Heroes of Olympus Series on the same road trip. This is also my first Percico fanfic, so I'm REALLY EXCITED. I really ship it. But this is mainly fluff, nothing too intense. I hope you enjoy it. And even if you don't, review in the comments! I'm totally up for constructive criticism to make my writing better or if you have any ideas for future fanfics, let me know! **

Percy had no recollection of last night. Nothing. He had no idea where he was, where Nico, Jason, and Leo were, and most of all he had no idea how Cerberus got into the bathroom. His head was still spinning when he untangled himself from the bed sheets he had been sleeping in on the floor. He stumbled to the bathroom, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. When he opened the door though, he was face-to-face with Cerberus. Yes, the three-head dog that guards the Underworld. Needless to say, his screams woke up Jason and Nico. Nico came stumbling out from behind the minibar and Jason rolled off of the couch (which had unidentifiable claw marks on it.)

"Percy, can you not scream so loud?" Jason asked. Percy didn't hear him though because in his haste to not die he had tripped over a feathery boa lying on the floor, and fallen backwards over the couch, and landed with a crash on the glass coffee-table.

"_Cerberus_ is IN OUR BATHROOM." Percy said as he brushed feathers off of himself.

"What?!" Nico asked, bewildered. Percy and Jason didn't answer Nico though, they just stared at him strangely.

"What?..." Nico asked, sounding concerned.

"Um…Nico…"Jason began. He trailed off, unsure of how to tell Nico this.

"Nico, your hair is pink." Percy said, completing Jason's sentence.

"What?!" Nico exclaimed. He rushed into the bathroom, forgetting about Cerberus. He stared in horror at his once black curly hair that was now bright pink in the bathroom mirror. Percy and Jason could hear his groans of agony from outside.

"This is not happening." Nico complained. Then he heard a growl behind him as he saw Cerberus in the mirror. He whirled around and dove under the three heads, just reaching the bathroom door before slamming it shut in Cerberus' face.

"WHAT. IN. THE. NAME OF THE GODS. IS GOING ON?" Nico asked, his back against the bathroom door.

"I have no idea." Jason answered, rubbing his temples. "I can't remember anything from last night."

Nico's eye went wide as he stared at Jason. Jason's stomach turned. He prayed to his dad that his hair wasn't bright pink.

"What is it? Please tell me my hair is still blonde." Jason said, cringing at the thought.

"No. Your hair is still the same." Nico said.

"You're just missing a tooth." Percy finished.

"WHAT?" Jason asked, bringing his hands to his mouth. Sure enough, he felt an empty gap where a front tooth should have been. "How did I _lose a tooth?_"

Before any explanation could be given, there was a rustling from a pile of fallen curtains by the window. The three boys drew their weapons, ready for a horrible monster to jump out and attack them. Instead they got Dionysus.

"Wow." He said, sticking his head out of the curtains. "That was a wild party last night. I mean, one of the craziest parties I've ever been too. And I've been to a lot of them." He said, slowly untangling himself.

"You boys sure know how to have a good time." He continued. "Whoa. Pink hair." He commented, looking at Nico. Nico glared, and Percy intervened.

"Dionysus? What are you doing here?" Percy asked, lowering Riptide.

"Well, to answer your question, Peter-"

"Percy."

"Right. You boys were having an epic party, and as the god of parties I was obliged to be there. Not that I'm complaining. Most fun I've had in centuries. I'll be sure to put you boys on the party planning committee back at camp. See you there." Dionysus said. "Oh, and congratulations you two." He added, before disappearing.

"Come back!" Jason pleaded. "We need your help!" But his cries did nothing. Dionysus was gone.

"What was that congratulations about?" Percy asked.

"Who knows? But whatever happened last night, must've been insane." Nico said.

"Insane enough that Dionysus had a good time." Jason agreed.

"Wait a second." Percy cut in. "Where's Leo?"

The three demigods exchanged worried glances, before searching the hotel room.

"Any sign of him?" Jason asked.

"None. But I did figure out we're at Caesar's Palace. In Las Vegas." Percy said, holding up a shot glass that read, _Caesar's Palace_. "Kind of funny." Percy said, commenting on the obvious irony.

"How did we end up in Caesar's Palace?" Nico said. "And where is Leo?"

"Look, let's think about this. What's the last thing you remember?" Jason asked the other two boys.

"Hmm." Percy said, thinking. "I don't remember how we got here, or why Las Vegas. But I do remember being on the roof. Leo was there. And we were heading to…um…we were going _somewhere_. I just can't remember where."

"I think we were on a quest." Nico suggested. "But I can't remember what we were supposed to be doing."

"Well, I remember the roof, but I don't even remember getting to our destination, wherever it was." Jason said. "I can't believe this is the _second time_ I've lost my memory."

"You're telling me. I'm getting real tired of it. Wait a second…" Percy said, remembering something. "Weren't we drinking something?"

"Like alcohol?" Nico asked, horrified. He'd never gotten drunk in his life.

"No no no no." Percy answered quickly. "We were drinking smoothies or something. I remember because it was bright pink…" Percy involuntarily glanced at Nico's hair. Nico glared at him. Percy looked away and continued. "And I was complaining because it wasn't blue, but I drank it anyway."

"That's right." Jason said.

"I think Jason was the one who made the smoothies." Nico said.

"What? I don't remember making any smoothies." Jason said, very confused. The three demigods were silent, trying to remember the events of last night. Percy raked his hand through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes. Nico stared at him.

"Percy, what's on your wrist?" He asked him.

"Huh?" Percy asked, looking down. He tilted his head to stare at it. "It's a hospital bracelet. It says I had a minor concussion."

"A minor concussion!?" Jason asked, concerned for his friend.

"This is good!" Nico said. Jason and Percy looked at him.

"How is me having a concussion good?" Percy asked.

"Not that you had a concussion, but we went to a hospital. It's a clue. The best we have so far." Nico explained. Jason nodded.

"Nico's right. We should follow the lead, and maybe we'll find Leo. Or at least figure out what happened last night." Jason agreed.

"Alright. And we just leave Cerberus in the bathroom?" Percy asked. Jason and Nico shrugged.

"Let's just hope the maid doesn't get eaten." Percy joked. As they left, he put the _Do Not Disturb_ sign up.


	2. Chapter 2

The sons of the three most powerful gods handed the valet their ticket.

"Percy, I thought we came here on Festus?" Jason asked.

"I thought so too."

"So where did you get that ticket from? Did we _park_ Festus?" Jason asked. Percy shrugged. As the three demigods stood waiting for the valet to return, Nico pointed up at something.

"Is that a flaming mattress?" He asked, pointing at the burnt mattress impaled on a statue.

"Oh my gods. I think you're right." Jason confirmed, shielding his eyes as he stared at the strange sight.

"Wow. Did we do that? We really must have had a crazy night." Percy observed. A random person passing by interrupted their conversation.

"Some people just can't handle Las Vegas." He said before walking away. The three boys stared at each other.

"Alright then…" Jason said, summing up how everyone felt. Then the valet came up. All three of the boys' mouths dropped open simultaneously in shock.

"Here's your ride." The valet said casually, before walking away.

"Is that a chariot?" Percy asked.

"I think it's the _Sun Chariot._" Jason said.

"Like…_Apollo_ Sun Chariot?" Percy asked.

"Yep."

"Is there any chance Apollo let us borrow it?" Percy asked.

"Nope."

"Not even a little." Nico agreed.

"Well…At least when we all get thrown into Tartarus, we'll have each other. Unless Apollo incinerates us." Percy said. The three demigods continued to stare at the chariot. Finally, Jason snapped out of it.

"Alright. I'm sure when we return the chariot to Apollo, he'll understand. For now, we should focus on finding Leo, which means we should head to the hospital." Jason said. The other two demigods exchanged glances.

"I guess that's all we can do." Nico agreed. "But do either of you know how to drive this thing?"

Jason and Nico looked at Percy.

"What?" Percy asked.

"Poseidon's big on chariots right? He did create horses." Jason said.

"Plus, you've ridden on it with Apollo, so you've got the best sense of how to drive it." Nico added.

"You were there too." Percy points out. "And Jason, you're the son of Zeus. You'd be the least likely to get shot out of the sky."

"We don't need to be in the sky, we can drive on the ground."

"Because that's a great idea." Percy said. He scowled for a second, then gave in. "Alright fine. Just don't hate me if we all die in a fiery blast and accidentally scorch Las Vegas to ashes."

With that the sons of Hades and Zeus climbed into the chariot, following the son of Poseidon. Percy grabbed the reins tightly.

"Hold on." He said. Jason and Nico exchanged worried glances, then quickly grabbed Percy's waist. Nico wasn't complaining. He forced himself to focus a hooker walking by instead of Percy's abs which were so close. He blushed a little.

Percy tugged on the reins, but instead of driving away, the chariot morphed into a Maserati. The three boys sat speechless. Percy sat in the driver's seat, Jason in the shotgun, and Nico in the back.

"Uh. How did you do that?" Jason asked.

"I have no idea…But you could say this ride is smoking hot." Percy said, and laughed at his joke. Nico and Jason gave him disapproving glances. Percy frowned for a moment, and then lightened up again.

"Okay. Let's ride." He said, putting on some epic sunglasses.

"Where did you get those?" Jason asked.

"They were in the glove compartment. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Alright, hot shot, let's get to the hospital." Jason teased. Percy stomped his foot on the gas pedal, and the car zoomed off. After nearly killing four pedestrians, almost running over a prostitute, and ramming into a telephone pole, they made it to the hospital (not in one piece, but still alive). Luckily the chariot was indestructible. Nico fell out of the back, and held himself up on the side of the car.

"I think I'm going to be sick." He said. That car ride was ten times worse than shadow travel. Percy and Jason helped him walk into the waiting room.

"Please wait a few minutes and a doctor will come right out to help your friend." A nurse at the desk said. Percy and Jason looked at Nico. His skin was paler than usual because of the sickening car ride, but he'd be fine.

"Actually, we're here because we need to talk to the doctor who helped us last night." Jason explained. "You see, we lost our memories and we're trying to figure out what happened."

"Oh yes. I remember you three. By the way, nice pink hair." The nurse said. Nico scowled. The nurse didn't notice. "Very well, he's in the third room on your right." The boys poked their heads into the room.

"Excuse me?" Jason knocked on the door.

"Ah! Percy, Jason, and Nico! I see you're all looking much better this morning. And Nico, I like the hair color." The doctor said. Jason was startled as he recognized the doctor immediately.

"Dr. Asclepius!" He said.

"Yes." Asclepius responded.

"Dr., we're in a bit of a dilemma. We can't remember what happened last night at all. We'd thought you'd be able to help us." Jason asked.

"Why, of course! You boys were in quite a state last night. If I knew any better I'd say you four were more drunk than Dionysus after Mardi Gras." Asclepius laughed at his joke. "But I do know better."

"So we weren't drunk?" Nico asked, feeling relieved.

"No. Your blood samples showed that you had ingested Nelumbo nucifera."

"What did you call me?" Percy asked. Asclepius laughed.

"No, no, no. Nelumbo nucifera, the lotus flower. I'm sure you boys have heard of the Lotus-eaters."

"Oh gods no." Percy winced. Nico cringed too. Jason was confused. Nico explained.

"The Lotus-eaters reside in a hotel nearby known as the Lotus Hotel and Casino. They basically addict people to the games, food, and activities. The lotus flower is addictive and makes people act intoxicated. It helps keep people trapped inside." Nico said, shivering at the memories.

"So you're saying we ate lotus flowers and got drunk from it?" Jason asked.

"You could put it that way." Asclepius confirmed.

"But you still remember things after eating it." Percy said. "So then how did we lose our memories?"

"Alas, that I do not know." The three boys were silent for a moment. Then Nico spoke up.

"Asclepius. Sorry, Dr. Asclepius. When we came in last night, was there another person with us? Short, slim, curly black hair, dark brown eyes, a mischievous smile? He probably would have been wearing a tool belt." Nico said, describing Leo.

"Ahh, yes. He was with you, tried to put rockets on one of the wheelchairs."

"Yep, that's him." Jason confirmed.

"Did we say anything about where we were going?" Nico asked.

"No." Asclepius said. The boys frowned. "But you did mention something about just coming from a chapel."

"A chapel?" Percy asked. "Like a _wedding_ chapel?"

"I think so. If I understood your slurred conversation correctly, someone had gotten married."

"I've got a really bad feeling about this." Percy said. Asclepius laughed.

"Oh yes." He continued. "It was quite entertaining. You were all stumbling around and singing the Bridal Chorus. It was very amusing. Especially because all of you were singing different lyrics and on different keys." As Asclepius retold the events of last night, the three boys all felt their faces blush. Asclepius didn't seem to notice. "The other one, Leo, even pulled out a guitar and started playing along. I don't know where he got it from. Heck, he barely knew how to play it. He just strummed random chords."

"Well." Nico cut in before Asclepius could continue. "You've been a huge help, thanks for everything."

"No problem my boys! Glad to be of service. Oh, and Jason, if you find your tooth, I'd put it in a glass of milk and bring it over and I'll put it back it."

"Thanks." Jason said, sadly remembering his missing tooth. With that the boys left the hospital.

"Looks like we're going to a chapel." Jason said, as the boys climbed into the sun chariot/car.

"I still don't know how I got a concussion." Percy said, turning on the engine. Jason put his hand on the wheel.

"OOoooOOh no." Jason said. "I'm driving this time." Percy pouted.

"Not the pout." Nico said, shielding his eyes.

"Percy, we almost died last time! Seven times!" Jason exclaimed. Percy pouted more. Jason couldn't say no to that face. "Oh, alright. Just _try _not to get us killed."

"Yay!" Percy said, ramming his foot on the gas pedal. They took off towards the chapel. Needless to say, this ride was no better than last time. At least Nico kept his breakfast in his stomach. As the three demigods got out of the car, they drew their weapons, prepared for anything. They stealthily walked into the chapel. It was deserted. Nico turned to address the other two boys, when suddenly a hand slapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey." The three boys jumped away and raised their weapons. Percy held Riptide up defensively. Nico and Jason glared at the man with the kind of intensity that only comes from deep passionate hatred for someone.

"Do you know this guy?" Percy asked. Nico shuddered.

"Yes. Unfortunately." Nico answered.

"Let me guess…Thanatos, God of Death?" Percy said, recognizing him from the descriptions of Thanatos. Percy raised his sword higher.

"Close. But it's _Cupid_." Jason hissed. Percy lowered his sword and stared at Jason and Nico, who both looked like they wanted to strangle Cupid.

"Are you kidding me? You guys are angry at _Cupid_? God of Love? Did I miss something here?" Percy asked, very confused. He looked Cupid up and down. He didn't look like much of a love god. He was lean and muscular, wearing a white shirt that read _Cupid's Chapel: Express Weddings_, and jeans. He was handsome, but not at all like the cute naked baby Percy had always pictured him as. His face was chiseled and harsh. Yet he seemed to be in a good mood (as far as Percy could tell). Percy was glad because he would not have wanted to see him in a bad mood. Suddenly Cupid disappeared and then reappeared behind Percy. He slapped him on the shoulder.

"Love the new hair color, Nico. So, what brings you lovebirds back? I hope you're not having second thoughts." Cupid said, uncharacteristically friendly. Percy pulled away.

"Lovebirds? What are you talking about?" Percy demanded. He had once again raised his sword, threateningly. Cupid laughed at him. Nico scowled, afraid of what Cupid might reveal.

"Why are you in such a good mood anyway?" Nico asked, desperate to change the subject.

"Why? Because of you of course! And Percy." Cupid added, winking at Nico.

"What?" Nico asked. Percy and Jason were also very confused. Jason and Nico were especially concerned because they had met Cupid and knew what he was like. The harsh, cruel god that they had encountered was nothing like this welcoming man. This scared Jason and Nico even more, not to mention the sinister and mischievous smile Cupid had on.

"What is it?" Nico asked again, more threateningly this time. Even Percy and Jason tensed. Seeing the son of Hades so angry was not comforting.

"Just tell us what we were doing in this chapel last night." Jason demanded. Cupid tilted his head.

"I don't understand, do you not remember?" He asked. Jason shook his head.

"It's a long story, but we were drugged and don't remember any of the events of last night. We lost our friend and we're trying to find him. Now, please help us. Just tell us what happened here last night." Jason said. Cupid's smile widened. The three demigods involuntarily stepped back.

"Well…I'm pleased to announce that Nico and Percy were happily wed." Cupid stated. None of the demigods said anything. Finally, Percy broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I think I must have misheard you." Percy said, gesturing with his sword.

"You and my dear friend Nico were happily wed last night. It was quite a ceremony. Doves, flowers, black curtains for Nico, waterfalls for you. Everyone attended. Even Venus made an appearance! Or rather Aphrodite. It was quite romantic. She seemed slightly annoyed because she was convinced you would end up with Annabeth, but I knew all along you two were destined to be together." Cupid explained, clapping his hands together in an uncharacteristically good natured mood. Percy looked horrified at him.

"Annabeth is going to kill me." He said simply.

"Oh, at first she was, but then she saw how perfect you two were for each other and she let it go." Cupid explained. "It's just such a shame none of you can remember. To be honest though, I'm surprised you forgot, seeing as you both still have on your wedding rings."

"What?" Percy and Nico said simultaneously. They both held up their hands to reveal shiny identical wedding rings. They stared at each other. Nico blushed.

"Percy, I-I" He began, but couldn't put his feelings into words. Yes he had fantasized about this moment for years, but he never thought it would _actually_ _happen._ And he certainly never imagined it like this. And he had certainly hoped he would _remember_ it happening to him.

"Nico, I must say." Cupid began, embracing Nico and Percy in a tight hug. "I was so proud of you when you came walking in here with Percy in tow. And then you said that you proposed to Percy and he said yes, and I nearly died and went to the Underworld. I always knew you could do it. All you needed was a little _push._" Cupid said, and pushed Percy and Nico together. Now they were both blushing.

"Ahh. I think I'm a little lost here." Percy said. "Are you saying Nico has feelings for me?"

"Yes…" Nico confessed. He looked down embarrassed at his feet. Percy put his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey. Don't be embarrassed." Percy said, sincerely. He was about to continue when Cupid started taking pictures.

"Aww. This is too cute! I have to memorialize this so I can remember it forever." Cupid said.

"Can you stop interrupting us? We're trying to have a moment here." Percy said. "It's hard enough that we can't even remember getting married."

"I have pictures if you would like to see them. They may help jog your memories." Cupid said. Percy and Nico were about to slap him, when Jason, who had been fangirling because his OTP (Percico) was finally canon, spoke up.

"Yes. Yes. And Yes." Jason said. He didn't even notice Percy and Nico glaring at him. Cupid didn't even leave the room, he just pulled a box from behind him out of thin air.

"Here they are. I've also got them on mugs and t-shirts. $7.50 for the mug, $20 for the t-shirt." Cupid said.

"What a rip-off." Nico growled.

"Nico, if we were going to get married, we could have at least picked a better priced venue." Percy said.

"Oh, you two are so cute!" Cupid said, fangirling with Jason. Jason picked through the photos.

"Oh! Here's one with Percy walking down the aisle!" He screamed.

"What? I'm the girl in this relationship?" Percy asked. Jason raised his eyebrow.

"Don't act like you're not surprised." Jason said. Percy shut up.

"Oh, here's another one. In this one, you two are kissing! Oh this is too adorable." Jason continued.

"Take a look at that one." Cupid said, picking up another photo. "Hades and Poseidon with their newly wed sons."

"Our dads were here?" Percy exclaimed. "And no one noticed we seemed intoxicated?"

"Oh yes. You boys were acting very wild. It was a great wedding." Cupid said. He pointed at another picture. "There's the happy couple with Aphrodite."

"Were _all _the Olympians here?" Percy asked.

"Of course. This is all the news in Olympus. You lovebirds are the ultimate power couple. The sons of two of the greatest gods getting together. Everyone is obsessed. You're both on the cover of _Olympia Weekly._" Cupid explained. "Everyone came. I believe even some giants showed up. And let me tell you, I had trouble fitting all the guests. All the campers from Camp Half-Blood showed up!"

"I can't believe this…" Nico murmured.

"Here's the proof." Jason said, holding up a photo. "At least you didn't have pink hair when you got married."

"Is that Chiron?!" Nico asked.

"Looks like it." Jason said. "And there's Tyson. Look at this one! Aww, you guys made me your best man! I'm so honored." Jason pulled the couple into a tight embraced. With some difficulty, Nico wiggled out.

"Leo's in that picture too. That means he was with us when Percy and I…" Nico said, but trailed off.

"Got hitched." Percy finished for him. Cupid nearly fainted.

"You're finishing each other's sentences!" He yelled. Percy and Nico took a step back.

"Let's go. We got what we needed." Nico growled. Jason pouted.

"Fine. It was nice seeing you again, Cupid." Jason said. Percy and Nico were already walking towards the door.

"Keep me updated on your relationship!" Cupid yelled behind him. "Have fun on your honeymoon! And remember, always practice safe-" Nico turned around and glared at Cupid. For once, Cupid shut his mouth, intimidated by the fury being radiated from the demigod.

"Just let him cool down. And I'll let you know about the honeymoon." Jason said. He started walking out. Cupid coughed.

"The pictures are $3.00 each." Cupid said. Jason looked down at the box filled with photos.

"I'll take them all." He said.


	3. Chapter 3

When Jason got back to the car, Nico was grumbling in the back seat, while Percy was admiring his wedding ring.

"This is actually a very nice wedding ring." Jason heard Percy say. "I think it's Imperial Gold."

"Percy…I do like you. A lot. I mean…I've struggled with my feelings for a really long time, and Cupid made me realize that I can't hide from them or pretend like they don't exist (even if he was a jerk about it)…But I don't want us to be together because of a drunken proposal." Nico said. Before Percy could reply, they heard a rumbling in the distance that only the stomping of many feet in perfect rhythm could make. The three demigods knew only one thing could make that noise.

"It's a Roman legion." Jason said, as the three demigods raised their weapons. As the familiar face of Michael Kahale appeared, Jason realized they were faced with the First Cohort.

"Michael." Jason greeted him.

"Jason. Percy. Nico, nice hair." He greeted each of them. Nico scowled at him.

"Where is he?" Michael asked.

"Where is who?" Jason asked.

"You know very well who I'm referring to."

"No, actually we don't-" Nico began, but he was cut off. Michael nodded to the soldiers immediately at his side. They ran forward and encircled the three demigods.

"Don't do this! We don't know who you're talking about!" Jason tried to explain.

"Beat them up a bit. Nothing too painful, just get the point across." Michael commanded. With that, the First Cohort attacked.

The three demigods fought bravely, fending off the attack for a considerable amount of time. Percy was able to burst an underground water pipe. He took out a good third of the Cohort. Unfortunately, besides that there wasn't much water in Las Vegas. Jason meanwhile, summoned wind to push his enemies away. He couldn't summon lightening because he didn't want to hurt any of his comrades. Nico summoned a few zombies, and opened a few holes in the ground. But again, he didn't want to seriously injure the soldiers. He also couldn't shadow travel because there were no shadows in the sunny Las Vegas desert. The demigods put up a formidable challenge, but were eventually overcome. Michael approached the three boys, whose weapons had been taken and were being held back by Michael's troops.

"Return him to us. You have until tomorrow." Michael said. "Oh, and congratulations." And then marched away with the First Cohort. Jason, Percy, and Nico lay on the ground for a few minutes, accessing the damage.

"Oh man. I'm going to have some serious bruises for our honeymoon, Nico." Percy said. He laughed and then groaned in pain.

"Does everyone know about that?" Nico said. He was more embarrassed than he was concerned about his injuries. He'd be fine with some ambrosia.

"Can we focus?" Jason asked.

"Says the guys who paid 60 bucks for our wedding photos." Percy said. He smiled and then cringed again.

"First off, those were adorable. I had to buy them. Second off, what were they talking about? Return him to us? Who is him?" Jason asked.

"Like we would know." Nico said, sarcastically.

"We've had a long day." Jason said, rubbing his hip which had been kicked by one of the Roman troops. "Let's head back to the hotel, and we can figure out what to do next."

They piled back into the sun chariot. They drove towards the hotel, all tired and a little cranky from their encounter with the Romans. They finally made it back to the hotel (Percy's driving was getting a little better). However, as they waited for the elevator to arrive, a man walked up behind them. When the elevator arrived, the man got into the elevator with them. After years of experience Percy, Jason, and Nico knew what trouble looked like, and the guy that was in the elevator with them looked like trouble. Percy nodded towards Jason and Nico, who nodded back. He mouthed, "_One, Two, Three." _

The three demigods unsheathed their weapons and pointed them at the man. The man started laughing. His hoodie fell back to reveal blonde hair and a handsome face.

"_You stole my sun car_, _now I'd like to have it back_, _or I will scorch you._" The man said. Percy would recognize those horrible haikus anywhere.

"Apollo." Percy said, lowering his sword. "Sorry about almost impaling you. We thought you might be a monster."

"Me? A hideous monster?" Apollo gasped. Nico and Jason also put their swords away.

"Better safe than sorry." Jason explained.

"Unfortunately for you three, you will all be feeling very sorry and not safe at all." Apollo said. "You see, you stole my sun chariot. So I'll probably have to kill you all."

"What?!" They shouted.

"Sorry. It's nothing personal. Oh, and by the way, congrats you two." Apollo said, motioning to Percy and Nico. "Great ceremony. I wrote a haiku about it, if you'd like to hear."

"Nope, we're good." Nico said, quickly cutting Apollo off.

"Ah…Mr. Apollo?" Jason began. "Please don't kill us. We were drugged last night when we stole your car and we're really sorry about it. You can have it back right now."

"Hm…Well, I guess if it wasn't on purpose. And I'd hate to kill the newlyweds before their honeymoon. _Especially_ after I won that bet with Artemis that Percico would become canon over Percabeth. Boy, you should have seen the look on her face."

"Wait, what?" Percy asked. Apollo ignored him.

"I guess there's no harm done. However…I do need a favor, and since I'm sparing your lives this seems like a good way to pay me back."

"Sure." Jason said quickly. Percy and Nico exchanged nervous glances.

"Maybe we should hear what this "favor" is before we agree to it." Nico suggested.

"It's nothing big. It's just that I'm performing this afternoon at _Caesar's Palace_, and I'm in need of some backup for my performance. It's a long story, but my previous band is now incapacitated" Apollo explained. "Do any of you sing or play instruments?"

"I play the guitar." Nico said.

"Really? I had no idea." Jason said.

"What about you two?" Apollo asked.

"Ahh…" They said in unison.

After Apollo gave them the rundown of his show, and they memorized all the songs (which were written by Apollo himself), they were ready to start the show. Apollo opened the show with his favorite selection of his, titled "_I Am Awesome_". The chorus went like this,

_"__I am super awesome!_

_I can play every instrument in the world._

_I am the god of everything that is awesome_

_Because I am so awesome."_

That sums up the performance. Don't mention that you can't rhythm _awesome_ with _awesome _because that's how music works. Apollo is the god of music, so deal with it.

While the performance was torture for the small audience that for some unknown reason attended it, Nico, Jason and Percy enjoyed themselves. Nico was epic on the guitar, making Apollo's music actually sound decent. While Percy and Jason had never sung in their lives, they did have fun singing backup. Even though 95% of it was, "_He is so awesome._" Plus, none of them were killed. That was nice.

"Thanks for helping me out with the show." Apollo said when it was over. "You guys are actually pretty good. Not as good as me. But pretty good. Let me know if you'd ever want to start a band."

"We'll let you know." Jason said.

"Can I keep your sunglasses?" Percy asked.

"Yeah. I've got tons of extras. Oh, by the way, you parked your dragon in the parking lot by the Walmart." Apollo said. With that he disappeared.

"That was uhh…interesting?" Nico said.

"At least we didn't get incinerated." Jason pointed out. "Come on, let's head over to the Walmart to pick up Festus. Maybe we'll get some more answers there."

After searching four different Walmarts (it's surprising how many there are in Las Vegas), they found the right one. Parked in the far corner of the lot was Festus. All the mortals walked right by him, not noticing anything out of the ordinary. That's the Mist for ya. The Savior of Olympus, the Ghost King, and the Champion of Juno smiled at the comforting sight of their old friend. If only Leo was there too.

As the boys approached the dragon, they heard a muffled cry.

"Uhh…Did you guys hear that?" Percy asked, hesitantly following the noise.

"If you mean that strange, out of place, unexplained muffled shout…then yes." Jason answered.

The three boys once again drew their swords (which were getting a lot of use today), and slowly approached the noise. They peered over Festus to see a bag tied to his neck. The bag twitched. They argued over who should open it, and then compromised with opening it together.

They counted to three, and they flung open the bag. The person inside of it tumbled out onto the dirt, blowing dust everywhere. When the dust cleared Jason, Percy, and Nico all recognized the familiar blonde hair and pasty skin. They all were ready to put him back in the bag and then accidentally throw the bag into a river (preferably with crocodiles).

"Octavian." Jason growled. Percy and Nico radiated contempt for the boy. All three glared down at him.

"You three." Octavian hissed up at them like a feral cat. "You think you can just kidnap me and stuff me into a sack and then leave me there all night? You will regret angering Octavian, Augur of Camp Jupiter."

"Shut it, Mr. Augur, or we'll stuff you back in the sack. And this time we won't be so gentle." Percy said. Jason and Nico almost felt bad for Octavian because they knew that Percy was capable of being very scary.

"You can't intimidate me, Jackson." Octavian said, squinting up at them. Percy was about to bring back the bag, when Octavian continued. "Oh, and congratulations."

Percy, Jason, and Nico all blinked, not sure they heard him correctly.

"Thanks." Nico said, breaking the silence. "I never would have thought you would be okay with such a progressive wedding."

"Oh, I may be a conservative at heart, but I am an advocator of gay rights. In fact, homosexuality was not uncommon in Rome." Octavian explained. "And I love your rings. Very elegant."

"Thanks. They were well crafted." Percy agreed. He held up his finger to admire it once more. Nico was also staring at his ring, starting to get used to the feel of it on his finger.

"Mind bringing it closer? I can't appreciate the detail from down here." Octavian said. Nico had a bad feeling about this. Percy held his hand out. Octavian did seem to look at it for second, before ripping it off and throwing it in the dirt.

"Hey!" Percy yanked back his hand. Jason and Nico lunged towards Octavian who picked up a handful of dirt and threw it in their faces. He jumped up and sprinted away as Jason, Percy, and Nico were distracted. Nico recovered first and opened up a hole in the ground. Octavian anticipated this however, and jumped over the fissure before it was big enough to swallow him. As Octavian ran away he shouted to Nico, "And nice hair color!"

"This sucks." Nico said, summing it up.

"Here it is!" Percy said triumphantly, holding up his ring.

"Percy, you let Octavian get away so you could find your ring?" Nico asked. Percy pouted and looked down at the ring.

"It's important to me." He explained. Immediately Nico felt guilty. He looked away from Percy.

"I'm sorry, Percy. I'm not angry at you." Nico apologized, not looking at Percy. Percy took his hand.

"Ah, it's alright he got away." Percy said. Nico felt better.

"Heck, we don't even know why we kidnapped him and put him in a bag in the first place." Jason added. "So why do we care?"

"I can't believe we stuffed Octavian in a bag and left him there all night." Percy said, bursting into laughter. Jason joined him. Even Nico smiled.

"I cannot wait until I tell Reyna about this." Jason said through fits of laughter.

"Haha. What do you think Octavian will say to his followers? _Sorry I'm late, I was trapped in a bag all night._" Percy said, mocking Octavian's voice. He wiped a tear from his eye. "Ah. Today was a good day."


	4. Chapter 4

The boys returned to the hotel, hoping not to encounter anymore gods. They made it through the lobby, up the elevator, and down the hall, but their hopes died when they opened the door to their room.

"Dad…" Nico said. It was official. This day sucked. Percy, Jason, and Nico stared at Hades playing the piano in their hotel room. Nico recognized the song he was playing as the Funeral March.

"Nico. I like the new hair color." He said, not looking up from the piano.

"Dad, is there something you want to talk about?" Nico asked, not sure why Hades was here.

"I wanted to congratulate my son. I'm so happy for you. It doesn't often happen that one of my children get married. And to a son of Poseidon!" Hades said, uncharacteristically happy. Nico was noticing a trend between him and Cupid. He was a little confused why so many of the gods were obsessed with him and Percy getting married. "I'm just so proud. You've finally accepted who you are."

"Okay Dad." Nico said, not in the mood for a fatherly talk. Especially in front of Percy…his husband. It would take some time for Nico to get used to that.

"And that makes me Percy's father-in-law." Hades said. Nico could tell that underneath Percy's smile his soul had just died a little bit. "And Percy, you've chosen a great person to spend the rest of your life with." Then Hades turned from the piano and his smile disappeared. "But if you break his heart I will personally reserve you a spot in the deepest pits of Tartarus."

Percy swallowed and put his biggest smile on. "Wouldn't dream of it." Hades smiled again.

"Good to hear…Now to the real reason I'm here." Hades said. Nico rolled his eyes.

"I knew there was a catch." He said. Hades didn't seem to hear him.

"You three have stolen Cerberus. I would like him back now."

"Sure. You can take him. He's in the bathroom." Jason said, pointing to the bathroom.

"I want you to bring him back to the Underworld immediately."

"What?! But we can't get to the entrance in Los Angeles. At least, not for a few days." Nico said.

"That's why I'm opening the door in the gateway that's located in the Mojave Desert." Hades explained.

"How are we supposed to get Cerberus there?" Nico asked.

"You've done much greater feats. I'm sure you can think of something." Hades said, before disappearing in a cloud of foggy smoke. He left a wedding gift though.

"Let's open it!" Percy said and tore open the wrapping paper. Then he held up the gift, a little disappointed, but it was alright because he was too busy laughing his head off.

"Personalized towels?" He said through bursts of laughter.

"That's adorable." Jason commented and took a photo.

"Please, forgive my dad. His social skills are a little…rusty." Nico explained.

"Nah, he cares a lot. He means well."

"If only he was a little more helpful. So how are we going to get Cerberus to the middle of the Mojave Desert?" Jason asked.

"Hm. Do either of you have a rubber ball?" Percy asked. Nico and Jason shook their heads, so they started searching the hotel room.

"This room is completely trashed." Percy pointed out.

"Yeah. And what's with all the peacock feathers?" Jason asked, holding up a boa made of peacock feathers.

"Oh my gods! Jason, I think I just found your tooth." Nico said, holding up the clear shot glass that the bloody tooth was sitting in.

"Ew." Percy commented. Even Jason cringed.

"Let's clean it off and we can get Dr. Asclepius to put it back in." Jason said, hopefully.

"I don't know. The man's a doctor, not a dentist." Percy said. Then he noticed the concern on Jason's face, so he added, "But he is a god, so I'm sure he can handle it."

"Yeah." Jason said. As he brought the tooth over to the sink to wash it off, he saw a blender filled with a pink liquid.

"Hey, check this out. I think it's the lotus-flower smoothies." Jason said. Nico and Percy looked at the blender.

"What if we drug Cerberus?" Nico suggested. Percy and Jason stared at him.

"I can't tell if you're being serious or not."

"No, really. If we drug him enough we can placate him, and it's getting dark so I can shadow travel us to the gateway." Nico said. Percy checked in the fridge.

"Lucky for us, it looks like we've got a refrigerator full of this stuff." Percy said. Jason picked one of the pink flowers up.

"Wow. They do look pretty delicious…" He said. Percy slapped his hand, causing him to drop the pastry.

"Dude. _Addictive_. And we do not want a repeat of last night." Percy said. Jason looked sheepishly down at the fallen flower.

"Haha. Right."

"Here, stuff them in here." Nico said, turning the blender on. They blended up about 5 gallons worth of the lotus-flowers.

"Hope this'll be enough." Jason said. Nico fished through the refrigerator and found a conveniently large piece of steak.

"Let's soak this in the lotus-flower…uh. Would you call this a smoothie?" Nico asked.

"Nah. I think it's more of a sauce." Percy said, contemplating it.

"Not important." Jason said, pouring the lotus-flower smoothie/sauce/liquid over the steak. Then he gently picked it up and slid it into the bathroom before one of Cerberus's heads could bite him. A few moments later the boys heard a heavy _thud, _and opened the bathroom to find Cerberus unconscious on the floor.

"It worked!" Percy said.

"Great. Now I'll shadow travel us downstairs." Nico said. Nico grabbed hold of the drugged Cerberus while Percy wrapped his hands around his waist. Nico blushed but was secretly happy. Jason, being the awkward third wheel, took a picture for the scrapbook he was making about his OTP. Then he placed his hand on Percy and they disappeared and reappeared in the lobby of _Caesar's Palace _a few minutes later. None of the guests noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Nico continued to shadow travel till they were just outside Las Vegas. He was sweating by then.

"Nico, are you okay?" Percy asked, noticing. Nico wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Yeah. It's just difficult shadow traveling two other people and a giant three-headed dog. I just need a few minutes." Nico said. He laid back on the sand, getting it in his pink hair. Jason was looking at the sun setting beyond the sandy dunes.

"How did it get so late?" He asked.

"We spent a lot of time getting beaten up by the First Cohort." Percy suggested.

"Not to mention all that time we spent practicing with Apollo." Nico added, and then dropped his head back onto the sand to rest.

"It's been a whole day and we still aren't very close to finding Leo. I hope he's okay." Jason said. Percy slapped him good-naturedly on the back.

"Leo's tough. I'm sure he's fine." He said, trying to ease Jason's worry. Their moment was interrupted by a strange grumbling noise.

"Don't worry, we can grab a bite to eat after this." Percy said to Jason.

"What?" Jason asked.

"Wasn't that your stomach?" Percy asked. The look on Jason's face answered his question. The two boys slowly turned around to look at Cerberus, whose leg just twitched. Nico was napping a few feet away.

"_Nico. Time to wake up." _Percy whispered, trying not to wake Cerberus. He inched towards Nico. Cerberus rolled over. Percy froze, and then kept going.

"_Nicoooo._" Percy pleaded. Nico mumbled something, but didn't open his eyes.

"NIIICO." Percy tried again, just as Cerberus opened his eyes and stood up. He shook the sleep off.

"NIIIIICOOOO!" Percy yelled. Nico jumped up, just as one of the heads snapped at him. He ducked just in time to not get eaten. Percy and Jason each grabbed one of Cerberus' hind legs. Nico dove under one of the heads and grabbed one of the front legs. They disappeared and reappeared. Then they disappeared and reappeared again. And again. And again. Finally they caught sight of the gateway.

"Keep going Nico! Almost there." Jason yelled, encouragingly. Just as he did, Cerberus swiped at him with his free paw. He grazed his back, but it was enough to draw blood. Jason lost his grip of Cerberus.

"Ahh!" He landed on his back. The grains of sand stung the laceration.

"I'll stay with him. You keep going!" Percy yelled. He let go of Cerberus and ran over to Jason. Nico hesitated before disappearing and reappearing in front of the gateway.

"Well done, Nico."

Nico glanced up to see his father leaning against the doorway. He held up a rubber ball and whistled. Cerberus perked up. Hades threw the ball into the gateway and Cerberus chased after it.

"Thanks for all the help, dad." Nico said, more than a little pissed.

"Here, we found this when we discovered Cerberus was gone. It might help you find your friend." Hades said, tossing Leo's tool belt to Nico. It landed in front of him, spraying sand in Nico face.

"Oh, and I hope you liked the wedding gift." Hades said before stepping through the gateway. A second later it disappeared. Nico stared for a moment and then looked down at the tool belt. He felt sick thinking about Leo without his beloved tool belt. As he picked it up, sand fell off of it along with some peacock feathers. Nico picked one up and inspected it. He couldn't understand where it came from. Then he remembered Jason, and disappeared.

He reappeared in front of Percy, who was feeding Jason some ambrosia. He jumped in shock as Nico appeared.

"Nico! Did you get Cerberus to the gateway?" He asked.

"Yeah. Is Jason alright?" Nico asked.

"He should be fine with some ambrosia. Pretty nasty scratch though." Percy said. Jason smiled at Nico.

"I've had worse." Then he saw the tool belt. "Is that…?"

"Yeah." Nico answered. "Hades said he found it at the scene of the crime."

"At least we know Leo was with us when we kidnapped Cerberus." Percy said, ever the optimist.

"Let's head back to the hotel." Jason said, getting up. The demigods started back, but at the outskirts of the city Nico collapsed.

"It's alright. We can walk the rest of the way." Jason said. So both Jason and Nico leaned on Percy as they stumbled towards _Caesar's Palace._

"Phew. Almost there." Percy announced as he saw the gleaming neon sign and familiar columns of the casino.

"Stop right there, Jackson."

"Octavian?" Percy asked, bewildered. He could have sworn Octavian and the First Cohort were not standing behind them moments ago. "_Where did you even come from?_"

"The First Cohort is trained to move quickly." Octavian explained.

"Yes, but that was like in _seconds._" Percy said. Jason raised his head, and winced a little from the pain.

"What do you want?" Jason asked.

"I want you to return the Sibylline Books immediately." Octavian said.

"But I thought they burned in the sacking of Rome." Nico said.

"Don't play dumb with me. I want the recreations that the Greek camp has been making from the harpy." Octavian said.

"We've been making recreations of the Sibylline Books?" Percy asked Jason, who was still holding on to Percy for support.

"Apparently." Jason said.

"Then those books are the property of Camp Half-blood." Percy said defiantly.

"It was. But you will give them to me or I will kill your friend Leo."

"What?" The three demigods gasped. Percy accidentally dropped Jason and Nico out of shock.

"Oh, sorry about that." He apologized and helped them back up. Then he looked enraged at Octavian. Even while supporting his injured friends Percy looked intimidating. And even though they were hurt, Nico and Jason were also giving Octavian very threatening glares. The First Cohort was unnerved at the anger radiating from the sons of the three most powerful gods.

"I shall not harm your friend, but only if you give me the books. You have until noon. Meet us at our camp in the desert." With that Octavian and the First Cohort marched away.

"I hate that guy." Nico said.

"If he touches even _one_ hair on Leo's head…" Percy trailed off threateningly.

"At least we know where Leo is. Now we just need to figure out where the books are." Jason said.

"Let's check in the hotel room." Nico said. And so the trio stumbled off towards the casino.

However, as the elevator was riding up to their floor, it stopped and two more passengers got on. They seemed normal enough. It appeared as if they were common gamblers just come from the casino.

"I can't believe we lost all our money to that chick." One of them complained.

"You'd think a simple dice game would be easy to win." The other one agreed.

"It seemed as if I just didn't have any luck today." The first one said.

"Yeah. We lost all our money. And for what? Some stupid books!" The three demigods were suddenly interested.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Jason said. "May I ask, what the name of these books were that you bet all your money to win?"

"Hell, I don't even remember!" The first one said, spitting across the elevator.

"I think it started with an S. Sebilen. Seblleen. Seb-something." The second one said.

"Sibylline?" Nico asked.

"Yep. That sounds right. But I'm warning you kid, that girl who runs that game is good. I wouldn't go betting my money against her again."

"Not that we have any more money to bet." The first one grumbled.

"Alright. Thank you for the tip." Jason said. The next floor the two men got out of the elevator.

"You don't think we…" Percy asked.

"I think we did." Jason said.

"I can't believe we bet and _lost _the Sibylline Books." Percy said, shaking his head.

"Hopefully we can win them back." Moments later they were wandering the casino. Luckily Jason and Nico had taken some ambrosia and were able to walk on their own. They were careful to avoid any authorities that might kick them out because they were adolescents.

"There she is, in the far corner." Nico said, pointing to a bored looking woman who was decorated with golden laurels and dressed in a tunic with matching golden belts. The three boys headed over and sat down before the woman.

"Ah. Back again I see." The woman said.

"Back again?" Jason asked.

"I hope you wouldn't forget an encounter with Tyche, Goddess of Luck and Chance."

"Oh gods." Nico moaned.

"I take it you wish to once again bet to win back the Sibylline Books?" Tyche asked.

"Precisely." Jason said.

"I would have thought you would learn from the last time you played." Tyche said.

"Last time?" Nico asked.

"Yes. Don't you remember betting to dye your hair pink and then losing? And Jason betting to pull out his own tooth and losing? And Percy betting the Sibylline Books?" Tyche asked. Percy cringed.

"Yikes. Sorry about that, guys." He said, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Well…We lost our memories, so we don't. But we really need to win back those books. It's to save our friend." Jason explained.

"Very well. Then let us once again play knucklebones." Tyche said. "The rules are simple, whoever rolls the highest wins. Whoever rolls the lowest is out. Whoever remains at the end wins all. Each knucklebones has digits ranging from 1 to 7." Tyche said. She handed each of them four knucklebones.

"Ew. Are these real bones? I thought the game was just cleverly named." Percy said.

"I shall bet the Sibylline Books. What shall each of you bet?" Tyche asked, ignoring Percy's comment. "Remember, its value must be equal with that of the Sibylline Books."

The three boys were silent for a moment. Nico placed Leo's toolbelt on the table. Jason reluctantly placed the scrapbook he was making about Percy and Nico's relationship on the table too. Percy looked sadly at his wedding ring, knowing it was the only thing valuable enough to equal the Sibylline Books that he could bet. He took it off and placed it on the table.

"Let us begin. And may luck find you." Tyche said, before rolling her knucklebones. "25."

Then Jason rolled. "17."

Then Percy. "19."

Finally Nico. "7…" Suddenly Nico's knucklebones disappeared from the table.

"You're out." Tyche said. She rolled again. "26."

Jason rolled. "13."

Percy rolled. "14." He looked at Jason, whose knucklebones disappeared.

"It's up to you Percy." Nico said.

"You may roll first." Tyche said, gesturing to the table. Percy gulped and shook the knucklebones furiously. He close his eyes and rolled them. He forced himself to open his eyes. He stared at amazement.

"28…" He read off the knucklebones. He was shocked. Even Tyche looked surprised, her mouth had fallen open.

"Yes Percy!" Nico said.

"Way to go!" Jason agreed. Tyche closed her mouth, and vigorously shook her knucklebones. She rolled and then smiled triumphantly. "29."

"B-but." Percy began. Before his knucklebones could disappear, he picked them up.

"That's impossible!" He said angrily. "I may be bad at math, but I know that 7 times 4 equals 28. The most anyone could roll with these knucklebones is a 28! Not even the Goddess of Luck could roll more."

"Are you implying that I _cheated?_" Tyche asked, sounding offended.

"I'm saying I want to roll again."

"Very well."

"But, I want to roll with _your _knucklebones." Percy said.

"M-my knucklebones?" Tyche asked. Percy nodded.

"Very well, but you must bet something else. Something worth even more than the Sibylline Books." Tyche said.

"But I don't have anything else-" Percy began, but he saw the mischievous smile growing on Tyche's face.

"Bet your love for Nico." She said.

"What? But-"

"It is the only thing worthy enough." She said. Percy looked at Nico, who looked back at him. Then Percy nodded at Tyche. They exchanged knucklebones. Percy rolled first.

"6…" Percy said, sadly. He had thought for sure Tyche's knucklebones were rigged. Now his miscalculation would cost him Nico.

"Hm. It is a shame. And such a nice wedding." Tyche said. "Ah well." With that she rolled again. As the knucklebones landed, the goddess's mouth dropped open.

"WHAT?"

"4!" Percy exclaimed. "I guess luck just wasn't on your side today."

"B-but…how?" She said angrily. "I don't understand! I _rigged the game!"_ Her hand shot up to her mouth when she realized what she said. "I-I mean…"

"Give us our stuff back." Percy demanded. Tyche pouted. She waved her hand over the table and the Sibylline Books appeared.

"Just, please don't tell the other Olympians I was cheating. They'll never let me hear the end of it." She begged.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with us." Jason said. Tyche smiled gratefully. Jason continued. "But we have one question for you."

"Yes? Anything for your secrecy."

"Was there a short little dude with black curly hair that was wearing this tool belt and probably setting stuff on fire when we were here last night?"

"Yes. Yes he was. I believe he was named Leo." Tyche answered.

"Great. Thank you for all your help." Jason said. With that the three boys walked away. As the boys exited the casino, they shielded their eyes from the sun.

"Wow. It's daylight already?" Nico asked.

"We must have spent more time in there than we thought. It looks like we've got just enough time to save Leo." Jason said.

"Then let's get Festus and go." Percy said. They climbed on and took off towards the Roman camp. They could see it from the sky. It was a neatly organized assortment of tents and defensive walls. Percy and Nico were amazed that it had been erected in such a short amount of time, but Jason knew from experience how efficient the Roman campers were. They landed in the center of the camp, causing several campers to jump in shock, and one to fall backwards into one of the tents knocking it over.

As the three demigods climbed down, Octavian stormed out of his tent with a small procession of campers following behind him.

"I see you've decided to make the practical choice." Octavian said, noticing the books tucked underneath Percy's arms.

"We'll give you the books after we see Leo, _unharmed_." Percy warned.

"Very well. Bring Leo out." Octavian said. Some of his procession left and then returned a moment later with a short boy with a bag over his head. He looked fine.

"Oh thank the gods, Leo." Jason said. Percy handed the books over to Octavian, and they released Leo. He stumbled forward, and Nico caught him.

"Leo! We're so sorry we…" But Nico trailed off, He took off the bag to reveal…

"You're not Leo." Nico observed.

"Yes I am." The boy said, sounding hurt.

"We don't know this person." Jason said. Octavian shrugged.

"That's not my problem." Percy, Jason, and Nico were furious.

"Where's the _real _Leo?" Percy yelled.

"I am the real Leo." The boy said. "And you do know me."

"What? No we don't." Jason said.

"Yeah. I'm the one who gave you that lotus flower stuff." He said. "From Hera."

"Wait. What?" Jason said, doing a double take. "Did you say _Hera? _Who are you?"

"I'm Leo. The faun."

"A faun?"

"Yeah." He pulled off his shoes to reveal hooves.

"And you sold us lotus flowers?"

"No. I gave them to you as a gift. From Hera."

"I should have known Hera was involved in this." Percy hissed under his breath. "She probably wiped Leo's mind and left him on an island in order to stop a war with some Egyptian demigods or whoknowswhat."

"Speaking of Leo." Nico said, turning his sword on Octavian. "Where is he?"

"I don't know. He wasn't with you when we kidnapped Leo." He said. "The faun."

"If they don't know where Leo is, then we better get to finding him." Jason said. "It's been over a day, he could be in trouble."

"Fine. Let's go." Percy said. He climbed onto Festus. Nico and Jason followed.

"What about me?" Leo the faun asked.

"He could be useful if he has information on what Hera wanted." Jason said. Percy pouted but gave in.

"Oh fine." Leo the faun smiled and hopped on board.

"Just keep the lotus flowers to yourself." Jason said. As Festus took off, Leo the faun thought of something.

"Not to be _that guy_…but um did you actually give that guy the Sibilus Books?" Leo the faun asked.

"First off, _Sibylline_ Books. And no. Those were fakes. We wouldn't actually give Octavian the books. By the time he figures it out, we'll be long gone." Nico said.

"Oh. Thank the gods." Leo said.

"Why do you care?" Percy asked.

"Uh. No reason." Leo said, not suspiciously at all. Percy glanced at Jason and Nico who were thinking the same thing.

"Okay. Moving on…So where could Leo be? The uh…not faun Leo." Percy said.

"He was with us when we met Tyche." Jason said.

"But he wasn't when Octavian kidnapped Leo. The faun." Percy said.

"Leo, when did Octavian kidnap you?" Nico asked.

"Hmm. Well it was the next morning, because I was told to check up on you by H-I mean by no one." Leo the faun said.

"Did we go anywhere after we lost the books to Tyche?" Percy asked.

"I don't know." Jason said. "But maybe if we go back to the hotel we could find another clue."

"Or maybe we could just ask Hera." Nico suggested. The anger in his voice was very blatant. Leo the faun sensed it.

"You know, I'm sensing some resentment."

"We're just a little frustrated right now, and we haven't slept in a few days." Percy said. They landed outside the hotel. The three demigods were deathly silent as they walked towards the room. Leo the faun felt very awkward. The awkward tension rose as they went into the room and locked the door.

"Alright…_Leo_. Tell us why Hera sent you to give us the lotus flowers." Percy demanded.

"I'm not really supposed to say…I-I mean I don't know what you're talking about." Leo the faun lied. Percy just stared at him for a moment, and Leo broke.

"Alright! Alright! I was sent by Hera to give you the lotus flowers because Hera wanted you to steal the Sibylline Books and you refused to do it otherwise and…" He put his hand over his mouth just in time to see Hera scowling at him from behind the three demigods. The three boys saw the fear on Leo the faun's face and turned around.

"Hera!"

"Percy. Jason. Nico." She greeted them coolly. "You three want answers? Seeing as this faun has failed me, very well. You see, Octavian had stolen the Sibylline Books. I knew that they must be retrieved in order to avoid a clash between the two camps. I brought you four to Las Vegas to intercept the First Cohort on their return to Camp Jupiter. But you refused to help because you thought I had ulterior motives. So I sent this faun to give you the lotus flowers so you could be more easily persuaded. I had the faun tell you that the flowers would send you home. And then I wiped your memories so you would not remember my interference and the other gods would not be angry with me for interfering. Although that didn't work." She said, and looked at Leo the faun. "But it seems the rest of my plan worked because the Sibylline Books are now in your possession."

"You drugged us so we would steal some books?" Percy asked.

"If you put it like that…"

"Okay, so Hera has bad plans. But where's Leo?" Jason asked.

"Alas. That I do not know." Hera said.

"He could be anywhere in Las Vegas!" Percy exclaimed.

"Wait a second…Las Vegas?" Nico asked. Percy glanced at Nico in confusion.

"Uh. Yeah. We're in Las Vegas."

"That reminded me. That guy yesterday morning. _Some people just can't handle Las Vegas_. And the flaming mattress?" Nico said.

"Yes. We remember." Percy said.

"Is this really important right now? If we could continue, may I please have the Sibylline Books?" Hera asked. But Nico ignored her.

"Las Vegas windows can't open. It's a policy or something. So the flaming mattress must have been thrown off the roof! It was Leo!" Nico yelled. "We must have been playing a prank on him or something and brought his mattress to the roof and then forgot about him!" Percy and Jason stared at him, their mouths hanging open. The next second they were running to the roof, Nico behind them, and Hera screaming from the hotel room. Leo the faun took the opportunity to escape Hera's wrath and ran from the hotel. They threw open the door to the roof.

"Leo!" They searched the roof.

"…Guys?" They heard a familiar voice grumble. Leo crawled out from underneath a small shadow. He was really sunburnt and was stumbling around deliriously.

"I'm pretty sure I have heat stroke." He said. The other demigods embraced him.

"Gods, Leo. We were sure you were dead." Jason said.

"Okay okay. So now that you've found your friend, can I please have the Sibylline Books?" Hera asked, impatiently.

"Do you mean, these Sibylline Books?" Percy asked, holding up a small stack of books. He held them out over the edge of the roof. Hera gasped.

"You wouldn't."

"I might. I figure it could be nice to not have a prophecy looming over our heads for once." He said.

"But how will we predict disasters and apocalypses?" She asked.

"We won't. But we also won't be able to manipulate people, trying to predict the prophecy." He said, and then let go of the books. They disappeared over the edge, and were torn apart by the winds. The papers fluttered across the desert.

"Whatever happens, happens. It's time to write our own destinies." Percy said. Hera looked furious.

"I will not forget this Jackson." With that she disappear in a puff of peacock feathers.

"Ouch. You're going to regret that Percy." Leo said.

"Oh well. I'm just sick of the gods manipulating us because of prophecies."

"I can understand that." Jason said. "Come on Leo, let's get you some water."

As they started back downstairs, Percy stopped Nico.

"Nico…"

"It's okay. I knew this was coming, although, that doesn't make it hurt any less." Nico said, anticipating what Percy was going to say. He stared at the wedding ring. He had gotten used to it and didn't want to take it off.

"Nico, I really do like you, and despite everything I had a fun time today." Percy said. He sadly took of the wedding ring. "But I'm not ready for this level of commitment."

Nico looked sadly at the ground.

"It's alright. I understand."

"But we could take it slow. Maybe go on a second date?" Percy asked. Nico smiled.

"Second date?"

"I figure this counts as a first date. Minus Jason." He said, then he yelled over his shoulder at Jason and Leo who were hiding, "And I see you two taking pictures over there!"

Jason sheepishly went back inside. Leo gave Percy a thumbs up.

"Anyway, so what do you say?" Percy asked.

"I say yes! Just promise me one thing." Nico said, suddenly getting serious. "Let's never _ever_ come back to Las Vegas."

"I can agree with that." The two boys headed back inside, to find Jason showing Leo the scrapbook he made for Percico.

"How'd it go?" Leo asked. Percy just laughed.

"Seems you're feeling better. Let's head home." He said. The four boys hopped on Festus.

"Well…What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Leo said jokingly.

"Do not make me throw you off this dragon." Nico said, completely serious. With that the four boys started home to Camp Half-Blood.

**I hope you enjoyed it! REVIEWWWWWW. Also, I have some more ideas for Percico stories and Heroes of Olympus, so stay tuned! Same bat-time, same bat-channel!**


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